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Topic: Quoting FAQ (Read 3788 times)

Correct quoting is especially important in forum discussions. It allows forum members to scan the thread and quickly read the ongoing discussion points. However, this is one of the hardest things to get right, even for some forum members who have been posting for a while. It is not necessary or desirable to re-quote everything a member has said previously in your response, because everything everyone has said is already available in the thread - that's what the thread is for. However, you may want to respond to individual points, and quoting the individual points in your response is fine. You need to quote what the member said earlier - then - edit out and seperate each point you want to respond to. This takes time but needs to be done.

If, after reading this document, you are unsure or feel that you need some practice, you can start your own test thread in the Test Area section, and play with [quote] tags to your heart's content, replying to your own posts in that section until you're comfortable with the way it works.

It is recommended that forum members do not use alternative quoting styles, as this can be extremely confusing and frustrating for other forum members.

A quoted block typically looks like this:[quote author=Moderator_013]This is a quoted block[/quote]and will be displayed as follows:

In responding to a quote, please ensure that your responses are outside the quote block, as follows:[quote author=Moderator_013]This is a quoted block[/quote]This is my response.This will be displayed thusly:

Quote from: Moderator_013

This is a quoted block

This is my response.If a comment contains multiple points, and you wish to split it in order to make a response to each one, you can 'break up' the quote into multiple quotes. Here's an example:

Default response generated by the forum, as originally shown in the reply box:[quote author=New User]Where can I post test threads? Do I need to have a certain number of posts under my belt in order to do it?[/quote]

In the test area. You'll find it way down at the bottom of the board index.

[quote]Do I need to have a certain number of posts under my belt in order to do it?[/quote]

No, you can start a new thread in the Test area straight away.If you were to enter this and hit 'preview', this is what you'd see:

Quote from: New User

Where can I post test threads?

In the test area. You'll find it way down at the bottom of the board index.

Quote

Do I need to have a certain number of posts under my belt in order to do it?

No, you can start a new thread in the Test area straight away.Now let's see what happens if we miss out the [quote] tag in the third line:

Quote from: New User

Where can I post test threads?

In the test area. You'll find it way down at the bottom of the board index.

Do I need to have a certain number of posts under my belt in order to do it?

Quote

No, you can start a new thread in the Test area straight away.Now let's see what happens if we miss out the [/quote] tag in the first line:

Quote from: New User

Where can I post test threads?

In the test area. You'll find it way down at the bottom of the board index.

Quote

Do I need to have a certain number of posts under my belt in order to do it?

No, you can start a new thread in the Test area straight away.

As you can see, getting the quote tags wrong can cause some sentences to be misattributed, and lead to confusion. So it's important to get them right.

You can also 'nest' quotes, that is, have quote blocks inside other quote blocks. However, it is best to avoid 'deeply nested' quote blocks, such as in this example:

Quote from: User 2

Quote from: User 1

Quote from: User 2

Quote from: User 1

Quote from: User 2

Quote from: User 1

Quote from: User 2

Quote from: User 1

This is an example of a deeply nested quote.

It can be rather hard to read...

...and it also clutters up threads if there are lots of posts that looks like this.

As such, it's best to avoid deeply nesting quotes.

Preferably, you should only quote the post to which you're immediately responding.

Better still, only quote the parts to which you're responding.

That way, the thread is easier for others to follow.

And doesn't look a complete mess!

This example should illustrate this.Posts like this can be difficult to read (and it's easy to make mistakes with the [quote] tags). As stated elsewhere, use the 'Preview' function to check your comment before you post it - and use the Test Area board if you require a bit of practice.